


Silence

by perpetuallydisorganizedwriter



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, No Incest, Set in the Past, angsty fluff, honestly not sure how to tag this. Just two boys being brothers, is that a thing? it is now, no beta we die like ben
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-07 23:57:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19860175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perpetuallydisorganizedwriter/pseuds/perpetuallydisorganizedwriter
Summary: Fic request: 'good brother Klaus realizing Diego is avoiding talking because of his stutter and reminds him there’s no judgement and that he’ll always listen no matter how long it takes diego to finish'~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~An argument between Diego and Luther leads Diego to feel self-concious about his stutter. As a result, he stops talking and it's Klaus who comforts him.





	Silence

Diego Hargreeves could not point out just when his stutter had begun. As toddlers, they had all tripped over their words as they learned to turn their thoughts into cohesive sentences but one by one, his siblings outgrew it. Sure, every once in awhile, they would stumble but not like he did. It was like there was a chasm between his thoughts –which flowed so _effortlessly_ – and his tongue that seemed to catch and stumble over almost every syllable. The worst part was, the more upset he grew over it, the worse it would become.

Their father had no patience for it. He would berate young Diego over his inability to speak both clearly and in a sufficient amount of time. His siblings were more understanding. They knew what fear was like and what it could do to a person, but even they had their limitations. They had just come from a mission, exhausted, sore and for lack of a better word, grumpy. They had been bickering on the way home and that only seemed to intensify as they walked through the front door of the academy.

“O-o-oh sh-shut u-up, Lu-Luther.” Diego scowled at his brother who had been going on and on about how their mission would have been more successful if they had only listened to him. After all, he was the leader and their father… It was upon hearing yet another reminder that he was Number One that Diego snapped, but his anger didn’t have quite the same bite that he was hoping for. Stopping and starting always seemed to dull its edges. Still, he hoped his clenched fists and glaring eyes would do the trick. “We-were so-so-so t-t-t-t–”

“For the love of– Spit it out, Diego. I want to go to bed.” Luther cut him off and suddenly all the chatter from his other siblings cut out as they all turned to look at them.

Diego could feel all six pairs of eyes on him as his cheeks flushed in both embarrassment and anger, hurt washing over him. The silence was deafening and even Luther’s expression soon turned apologetic as he reached out and opened his mouth to speak. However, before he could so much as get a word out, Diego turned and ran from the room, ignoring the chorus of voices calling out his name behind him.

Slamming closed the door to his room, Diego threw his domino mask to the floor and flopped onto his bed, uncaring about the knives still strapped to his body. His face felt hot and his chest tight as he tried not to cry. He didn’t want to give Luther the satisfaction. Still, his head began to ache, a horrible throbbing starting in his temples and spreading out as his eyes watered. He tried to keep it inside but before long a sob escaped his lips. Diego buried his face into his pillow, cursing the speech impediment that he could never shake off.

He didn’t know how long he lay there like that, face hidden in his pillow but the sound of someone knocking softly at his door caught his attention.

“G-Go–Go a-a-a-a-away!” He lifted his head to shout before allowing his face to fall back into the pillow’s soft surface. Again, he heard the soft knock but rather than answer, he chose to wait it out. Seconds turned to minutes but soon the knocking died out and he could hear footsteps retreating. He stayed like that, face buried and tears soaking his pillow until he pushed it away and fell asleep.

He hadn’t planned to stop talking. It wasn’t a concious decision, but as he woke the next morning, he found himself keeping his mouth shut. Luther had apologized but all he offered in return was a nod. Breakfast was quiet –though it always was and he had managed to make it through training without a peep. In fact, he managed to make it through the entire day without saying so much as a word to anyone –even mom. Though she had checked to see if he was sick when she caught on. He wasn’t.

The next two days passed the same way. That was, of course, until Klaus came to hang out in his room. Ben was away doing some special training so Klaus naturally drifted to Diego, eager to sit beside someone for even just a little while. The two sat cross legged on the floor, close enough for their knees to touch and for an hour Klaus talked, eagerly filling the silence with ease. He drifted from subject to subject, barely pausing for a breath so when he stopped suddenly, Diego startled. Looking up from the book he had been thumbing through, he saw that Klaus was staring at him, his expression serious –something that was rare these days.

“Is it because of what Luther said?” Klaus asked after a minute of silence. Diego could tell he had been thinking over his words with great care.

Still, Diego’s brows pinched together, gaze dropping again as he remained silent.

“You know he didn’t mean it…” Klaus paused, closing the copy of Tween Hit he had snatched from Allison’s room just hours before. “I mean…he was a dick but you know we don't…” He paused again, struggling to find the right words. “We’re not going to judge you –I know I’m not and neither does Ben. We know you can’t control it and I’m sure Luther didn’t mean what he said. He was just tired and…” Klaus stopped, shaking his head a little. “What I’m trying to say is I’m the last person to judge anyone and even if it takes a while, I’m willing to wait to hear what you have to say because it’s important and Luther is a dick. Besides, you should have heard the way Allison chewed him out for it. He almost cried, Diego. _Cried_.” Klaus smiled now, nudging Diego as he did.

“T-thanks,” Diego said after a lenghty pause, making Klaus’ smile brighten up.

“Don’t mention it. Now…” Klaus reached into the pocket of his shorts to pull out four bottles of nail polish, each belonging to Allison. “Help me paint my toes before Allison notices these are gone. I can paint yours too if you want.”

Laughing, Diego rolled his eyes but reached for the closest bottle. “She’s g-going to k-kill y-you, you know.”

“Yes, but my nails will look fabulous for the funeral. _Ooh, this one_. Use this one.” Without another word, Klaus turned, placing his foot on Diego’s lap with a mischevious grin that Diego could not help but return.

“Fine, but I-I want this o-one.” Diego picked out a bottle of plain black for himself.

“Of couse you would choose that one.”

“S-shut up and s-stay s-still. You’ll m-mess it u-up.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”


End file.
